


Tonight Was Perfect

by jimikat



Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Established Relationship, Executive Dysfunction, F/M, Fluff, they're both just trying their best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-16
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27591902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jimikat/pseuds/jimikat
Summary: Wattson has had a very productive evening in the lab, but she gets the feeling she’s forgetting about something.
Relationships: Mirage | Elliott Witt/Wattson | Natalie Paquette
Comments: 2
Kudos: 23





	Tonight Was Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Just a soft little fluff piece that is mostly self-indulgent.

Tonight was perfect.

The lab was empty, the shuffled playlist had been exquisite, and the implementation of her new schematics had been executed flawlessly.

Natalie breathed a sigh of relief, leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms above her head. She heard a row of pops cascade down along her spine and she released a satisfied hum. She switched the power off on the new fence prototype she’d been working on, and the buzz of electricity popped, then faded.

“Natalie, dearie?”

The voice was barely audible over the comforting music in her earbuds, but she saw Horizon peering into the lab, a quizzical look on her face. Natalie popped out the ear buds with a grin.

“ _Salute_ , Dr. Somers!” Natalie chirped. “ _Ça va_?”

“What’re ya doin’ here so late, petal?” Mary asked, stepping in and glancing around the lab as she approached Natalie. “Elliott with ya?”

“Non, I think he’s home tonight. Wait...” Her heart stopped and she scrambled for her phone, checking the day. Relief flooded through her as her eyes fell on the word _Tuesday_. Good. Date night was Thursday; she hadn't missed it. Again. She thought for a moment her calendar reminders had failed her.

“Oh. Bit of a shock, that,” Mary said, her eyes brightening as she nudged the young woman’s arm. “ _If_ you’ll excuse the pun.”

Natalie’s smile spread wide. “Absolutely re _volt_ ing, Doctor.”

Mary chuckled, a hand on her shoulder, patting gently. “What’re we working on, now?”

Natalie was about to launch into an excited explanation when her phone beeped and rattled on the work bench. She reached for it to find a new text from Elliott. Oh… at the foot of several older, missed texts from Elliott that she hadn’t even noticed. Whoops.

 _3 hours ago_  
 **Elliott** ⚡️💖: Hey, Nat, are you okay?

 _1 hours ago_  
 **Elliott** ⚡️💖: Nat?

 _Just now_  
 **Elliott** ⚡️💖: Okay. Well… lemme know what’s up.

“Sorry, _un moment s'il vous plaît_ ,” Natalie said, shirking her shoulders and raising an apologetic hand as she unlocked her phone.

 **Natalie** : Yep! Just finishing up some stuff in the lab! 💖  
 **Elliott** ⚡️💖: oh  
 **Elliott** ⚡️💖: k

“Everything alright?” Mary asked, trying not to eye the messages on the phone.

“Of course!” Natalie said, locking the phone and tucking it into her pocket. She looked over at Mary with a smile, but it quickly faded when she saw the look of concern etched on the woman’s face. “Why? Did I… Did I miss something?”

“Wasn’t he upset?”

Natalie’s brows knit together as she pulled her phone back out, surveying the last text. She admitted she didn’t always quite understand tone in text, but that’s why they’d talked early on about saying what they meant when texting. Elliott knew that. If he had a problem, he… he…

She looked up at Mary, eyes wide, brows twisted up in concern. “I’m missing something, aren’t I?”

“He might’ve mentioned this morning it was his birthday, so I—”

Natalie gasped. No. Oh no oh no oh no… She jumped to her feet, her roller chair skidding off across the lab before hitting a table and toppling.

“I forgot!” Natalie yelped, running a scarred hand back through her thick bangs. “I can’t believe I forgot!”

Mary grimaced, patting her shoulder. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, petal. He’s a good boy, he'll understand. But… might want to get going.”

She was already halfway out the door, tugging her shoulder bag across her chest as she ran, skidding along every corner and finally bursting into the cool night air. She fumbled with her bike lock, messing up the combination three times before it finally popped open and she sped away from the Apex center.

Elliott’s apartment wasn’t terribly far, but she needed to stop by her place first. She’d had everything planned. Everything was ready. She’d made so many lists, set so many reminders, post-it notes on every surface, to make sure this day would be special and just the two of them. Just like he’d asked. And then she just… forgot to set the date in her calendar.

 _Stupid, Natalie_ , she berated herself. _He’ll be so hurt. He’ll never forgive you_.

She loved him so much. He made her happier than she ever thought possible. And this was how she repaid him. She always messed things up. Why couldn't her brain just be normal? Why couldn’t she just _remember_ things? Why was everything so much harder?

She could feel the burn in the corner of her eyes. No, no, stop it. Not now. She couldn’t cry right now.

She sniffed, wiping angrily at her eyes as she pedaled furiously along the streets of Solace City.

It was almost an hour later by the time Natalie screeched to a halt in front of Elliott’s apartment, her bag stuffed with everything she could remember to grab from her home. She scrambled off the bike, lungs burning, letting the bike fall forgotten to the sidewalk as she climbed steps two at a time to reach the familiar door. The sight of it still gave her butterflies. Even if today those were anxiety butterflies.

She raised a fist to knock when she suddenly froze.

She’d never texted him back once she realized her mistake. She squinted her eyes, feeling the wave of shame washing over and trying to steady herself as her brain shouted furious, accusatory things at her. She shook her head, willing herself to not worry about that right now, and knocked.

Natalie’s whole body tingled as she waited. He was going to be so angry… He was going to hate her after this.

The door opened and the sight broke her heart.

Elliott stood there, a blanket draped over his shoulders. His curls were pulled back into a small bun, his eyes red and a little puffy. She could barely breathe, exhausted from the ride here, as she looked up at him.

“N-nat?” Elliott asked, his voice small. She wanted to pull him into a hug and say she was sorry but… maybe he wouldn’t want her anymore. She took a step back instead, hands gripping the strap of her shoulder bag.

“I understand if you don’t want to talk to me right now,” Natalie whispered, eyes falling to her feet. “If you want me to leave, I—”

Her words were cut off as Elliott’s strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her against his chest and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“I th-thought I d-did something wrong,” Elliott sighed into her, his voice tight. “At first I thought maybe something happened to you. And when I didn’t hear from you I th-thought maybe you were mad at me.”

Natalie pulled herself out of his grip, barely able to lean back from his, his arms still wrapped tightly around her. She raised her arms to cup his face, stroking his cheek softly, just above his beard.

“ _Mon ange_ , never!” Natalie gasped. “I’m so sorry, Elliott. I had everything ready for your birthday. I had all these plans! I just…”

“Forgot?” Elliott asked. He tried to smile, tried to keep his face light and understanding. But it ended up a little on the side of _pained grimace_.

“I… _oui_. But look!” She wriggled out of Elliott’s grip, tugging open her shoulder bag. It was practically overflowing with several wrapped gifts, a handful of movies, and far more junk food than two people could ever conceivably consume in one night.

He let out a choked laugh as she grabbed handfuls of whatever would follow when she dove her hand in, eerily reminiscent of a crane game.

“See? You said you didn’t want a big party this year. So I had everything all set. I…” Natalie sighed, letting the items fall back into her bag.

She reached for Elliott’s fingers, wrapping her index finger around his. His hands were always so soft, her’s always so rough, calloused… She wondered sometimes why he would want to hold her hand at all…

“I know we don’t have much time for a movie, but maybe we could still do something?” Natalie asked, readying herself for rejection.

He squeezed his finger tightly around hers, leaning down to kiss her softly. She melted into his touch, humming into his kiss, before he pulled away.

“You kidding? We’ve got all night,” Elliott grinned, rubbing his nose against hers. She giggled, kissing the tip of his nose.

“You’ll just fall asleep,” Natalie sighed, shaking her head.

“Well, sure, but you make the cutest little pillow ever,” Elliott chuckled, grabbing her again and tugging her close, hoisting her up off her feet. She laughed, lyrical and sweet and for just a moment forgetting the guilt that was weighing her down. It settled back into her head as her feet settled back on the ground.

Natalie gazed up into Elliott’s caramel eyes, her laugh fading into the din of the city streets. “I’ll do better next time, Elliott.”

“I know you will, Nat. We both will. I'll try not to make my texts so cryp-crupt- _cryptic_ ,” He said. “We’ll figure stuff out. We always do.”

“I’m trying,” Natalie whispered as Elliott took her hand.

“I know you are. I love you, honey.”

“I love you, too, _mon bibou_.”

They settled down onto the couch, putting in a movie Elliott had told Natalie about a thousand times over. She nibbled at a piece of chocolate as Elliott’s sleeping form gradually slipped down her shoulder, until he was nestled in her lap.

Things hadn’t gone according to plan, but as she gently stroked his curls, listening to his soft snores as a movie she had no interest in played before her, she had to admit.

Tonight was perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I always write fics about someone forgetting important days? Certainly it can’t be projection. Certainly not. >.>


End file.
